Beer Review: Logsdon Farmouse Ales Seizoen Bretta

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales Seizoen Bretta is a specialty organic farmhouse ale from Hood River, Oreg.
For a saison, the beer is alcoholically strong (8 percent ABV) and slightly sour, owing to the use of wild Bretta yeast. The yeast that is used results in slightly sour undertones, countered by the ample use of sweet crystal malts. Together, the beer is incredibly complex, at the same time sweet, dry, sour and fruity.

The color is a rich and unfiltered golden straw yellow. The large bottle is perfect for sharing; open a bottle with a couple of friends and drink it together while comparing opinions. Seizoen Bretta is so complex that everyone will notice something different, while someone will insightfully summarize its various palatal pleasures.

A couple of other things should be mentioned. A beer of this style should be served at about 50 degrees, meaning you should let it warm out of the fridge for about 25 minutes before opening. When pouring, use a smallish, stemmed glass, not a pint glass. This type of glass is much better at holding temperatures and capturing yeasty aromas. If you don’t have beer glasses like this, wine glasses will do the trick.

Seizoen Bretta is typically available at Capitol Beer and Tap Room and The Davis Beer Shoppe in 750 milliliter bottles for about $10, but don’t wait too long to seek it out. What’s on the shelves now won gold in the American-Style Brett Ale category at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival.
Image by: Allison Joy
Image by: Patricia Willers

Previously published at: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/79946/Monthly_beer_tasting_Logsdon_Farmhouse_Ales_Seizoen_Bretta on March 18, 2013

The Switch to Spring Beers

Now that you’ve gotten over your beer week hangover, restored your previous sleeping habits and saved up some cash, take a few weeks to enjoy the changing season. Yes, we all love IPAs, but what else out there can ease us into the warm spring afternoons? The answer is the saison.

On cool nights, get your last few sips of the beers that are going out – barley wines, porters and sweet stouts. These rich varieties tend to go out of favor after the temperature gets above 80.

To be clear, there is no need to get rid of these beers. Strong, dark beers generally age very well. Find a dark, cool place to store them for the summer and they will be even better next fall. Heed the warning on storage though; both light and drastic temperature changes are dangerous for beer of any style.

Now on to the saison, a farmhouse ale. Lately, I just haven't been able to stop thinking about a light and refreshing 750 milliliter bottle of saison and how perfectly it pairs with the spring weather. I have tried something like eight in the last eight days – the perfect ratio for these fine afternoons we’ve been having. A saison is a Belgian beer, though not your typical Belgian beer. It is generally lighter in body, earthier and much more mellow. This type of beer, traditionally drunk in spring in Wallonia - the French speaking southern portion of Belgium – is normally bottled in a wine bottle and corked due to the high amount of carbonation.

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales Seizoen Bretta is a personal favorite. Check out my recent review here on The Sacramento Press site. It may be a little hard to find, but it’s worth it. Lately it has been available at both The Davis Beer Shoppe and Capitol Beer and Tap Room.

Beware that certain farmhouse ales, usually those of a lighter hue, contain what is known by beer connoisseurs as a “funky” yeast. If you want to be technical about it, Brettanomyces Bruxellensis. This yeast is most unfortunately known for having the very distinct aroma of…horsehair.

Yes, horsehair. Some people actually like a certain amount of this flavor in a beer.

If it really gets to you, let it warm for a few minutes and it will lessen. The other option is to stick to the slightly maltier varieties such as the aforementioned Seizoen Bretta, North Coast Brewing Company's Le Merle or Hennepin, Brewery Ommegang's Farmhouse Saison. Saison Rue from The Bruery is yet another nice option. If you find yourself really enjoying this type of beer, expand your search to include all farmhouse ales and the always haughtily enticing French country ales.

 
Image by: Patricia Willers

You may have heard that Odonata Beer Company has plans to return to life in the near future. Its flagship beer was a saison that received 98 out of 100 at RateBeer.com. Unfortunately, this beer is currently only available as a limited-edition reserve release, available by special request or for special events.

In other news, we are about to see the end of blow-your-mind IPA season. Pliny The Younger season is over, but there are still a couple of interesting developments to look forward to. The first is Knee Deep Brewing Company’s Hopoholic 4x IPA. It should be released on tap and in bottles in the very near future – as soon as later this week – I suggest staying glued to their Twitter feed for updates.

The second development worth watching is Stone’s “Enjoy By” series. Enjoy By 04.20.13 will be available in Sacramento after March 20. Talk to your local beer proprietor to see if it’s going to be on their tap or bottle list. This particular version of the limited-release series is a double IPA at 88 IBUs and 9.4 percent ABV. It was bottled just last Friday and is the fifth in Stone’s “Enjoy By” series, Enjoy By 02.15.13 being the most lavishly hailed so far.

Stone chooses a number of sites around the country for each limited distribution, so not every release will be available in Sacramento. Enjoy by 04.20.13, though, is going to be available in pretty much the stoniest places in the country – Colorado, Alaska, Washington and Sacramento. Well done, Stone.

Previously published at: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/80552/The_switch_to_spring_beers on March 18, 2013

Good beer vibes at the Capital Beerfest 2013

Saturday afternoon visitors from all over the region headed to the Capital Beerfest for beer, fun and food trucks. Like last year, there were tons of local breweries pouring, but unlike last year, the locals were the stars this time around. Move over Sierra Nevada.

Highly enthused visitors streamed into Cal Expo starting at noon. At 2 p.m. when general admission opened there was a flood of new people and the exhibition hall was soon packed. The first two hours of the festival food was available, but it came with a price – a long line and precious pouring time wasted. Thankfully, there were also more than enough great food trucks, so no one went home hungry.

 

Newly opened New Helvetia Brewing Co. straddles the line between Midtown and Land Park. (Image by: Matt Doyle)

 

The selection of beers poured was undeniably great. There were just under 100 breweries and almost everyone was pouring their best.

Sutter Buttes Brewing had Franklin Jr. on tap. At more than 158 IBUs (International Bittering Units), they call it an Imperial Triple Hop made especially for hop heads. I call it delicious, unique and worth a try. Loomis Basin Brewing Company poured Avenger XX IPA. Although it was a bit bitter for my taste, the aroma was terrific.

Black Diamond Brewing had a really nice Imperial Hoppy Red called Fracas. Assistant Brewer Paul Mallory was on hand talking to visitors about their new initiative to brew an experimental beer each month. Mallory also said that while their previous brewpub in Walnut Grove closed, they have a new tap room open in Concord.

Belgo Hoptologist was on cask at Knee Deep Brewing Company’s booth – a delicious treat while it lasted - but this wasn’t the biggest news coming out of Knee Deep. Brewer Jeremy Warren confirmed that they had brewed a quadruple IPA. Word is that it’s just over 12 percent, but Warren stated that the official laboratory results are yet to come in. Knee Deep will be working on several trial versions in the coming months. Many are skeptical about the possibility of creating a quality beer that is hoppy enough to be called a quadruple IPA, but they have accepted the challenge.

Speaking of imperial IPAs, Moylan’s poured Hop Craic XXXXIPA. Is this truly a quadruple IPA? Probably not, but with Hop Craic and Hopsickle, they will surely be continuing on the race towards IBU bliss.

 

Track 7 and Knee Deep tents (Image by: Matt Doyle)

 
Knee Deep in Beer Week, the collaborative brew, was available both at Knee Deep and Track 7 during the festival. Both breweries brewed a slightly different version, and I’m hopeful that either one or both will become permanent Sacramento beers. As you can tell from the photo above, there was never a dull moment at their tents. It was great to see two young local breweries doing so well and pouring such high-quality beers.

The absence of homebrewers put a bit of a damper on the day for some. Around and around you could go, but you would find no local homebrewers at this year’s Capital Beerfest. The Greenbelt Brewers Association, which meets at Sudwerk Brewing, got a call on Friday at 3 p.m. that said they were out, so all their bottles and kegs (including one on nitro) had to be left at home come Saturday. The exact reason that they were unable to participate this year was unclear, but regardless, their presence and fresh ideas and brews were missed. In a word, lame.

 

  The Greenbelt Brewers Association had no booth at this year's Capital Beerfest (Image by: Matt Doyle)

 

Also missing from the action was North Coast Brewing Co. Just where were you last Saturday, Old Rasputin?

Despite the almost complete and total hop takeover of the California beer scene over the last year or two, there were still a few good spots at the beerfest for those uninterested in hops. Sierra Nevada had their Ovila Quad on tap, Stone Brewing Co. poured oak-aged Old Guardian – always a treat – and Oakland had something unique and not hoppy as well. Their Saison du Madre was a very healthy saison. The body was a touch sweet and the spritzy carbonation did it good.

Runnin’ For Rhett volunteers did the pouring and benefited from the proceeds of the event. The positive energy they bring to the beerfest each year is always a terrific addition to the day. Runnin’ For Rhett provides scholarships to college students enrolled in special education teaching programs and helps fund youth fitness programs for Sacramento area schools. They truly know how to “Uplift, encourage and move,” as their mission statement says.

So many breweries and so many great brews – just imagine all that is to come for this beer scene. Until next year, Sacramento Beer Week; until next week, Sacramento Beer Readers.

 

Odonata Beer Company announced their return just in time for SBW 2013. (Image by: Matt Doyle)

Originally published at http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/80037/Good_beer_vibes_at_the_Capital_Beerfest on March 4, 2013.

Pliny the Younger: Another 5 ounces, please

 

Pliny the Younger, Russian River Brewing Company's 10.25 percent ABV triple IPA, was featured on another local tap Thursday afternoon. One of the coveted 5-gallon kegs was tapped at Burgers & Brew in Davis on Thursday afternoon. Lines began forming around noon, although at 2 p.m. there were just around 70 people. Burgers & Brew had given Pliny enthusiasts plenty of time to prepare - they had posted the release date and time already on Monday on their Facebook page - so there was plenty of talk of rearranging work schedules. It might come as a surprise, but beer lovers can be quite organized and resourceful when it comes to limited-release brews.

Around 4 p.m. it seemed that the keg was running dry, and those still in line began to meander off sadly. All in all, the situation wasn't bad, even a few that came as late as 3 p.m. got a taste. The last 5-ounce pour was given to the three people still standing hopefully in line. The pour was shared happily.

Each customer got one 5-ounce pour for $2 - enough to taste, but nothing more. Burgers & Brew was also pouring Pliny the Elder, Firestone Walker Double Double Barrel Aged and Black Butte XXIV, as well as numerous other great beers, so at least thirsty patrons had something to turn to once the Younger was gone.

 

Image by: Patricia Willers

 

 

Image by: Patricia Willers

 

 

Image by: Patricia Willers

 

 

  Image by: Patricia Willers 

   

  Image by: Patricia Willers

 

 

Image by: Patricia Willers

   

  The things many will do for a taste of Pliny the Younger (Image by: Patricia Willers)

   

  Image by: Patricia Willers

 

 

Image by: Patricia Willers

Originally published at http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/79945/Pliny_the_Younger_Another_5_ounces_please_Photos on February 28, 2013.